Choose the Right Resource

Finding the right sources for a paper does not have to be painful if you know how to use the appropriate sources.

Google vs. Library Resources

Google is a wonderful tool for finding driving directions or a new recipe, but it isn't always the best place to start doing research. For one thing, you never know what you are going to get when you run a Google search. You might get an article or a website trying to sell you something. Also, Google's relevancy ranking system is set up so that more popular (and usually older) resources come up first.

The library pays for students, faculty and staff to have access to many high quality resources. The advantages to using library resources is that they are tailored towards certain subjects (for instance, Medline covers medical topics and CINAHL is geared towards nursing and allied health information), you have more searching tools at your disposal (like limits for evidence based practice), and, often you will have easier access to online full text articles.

Books vs. Articles

Books are great resources for getting an overview of a topic. They are also the place to look if you need information on a topic that is widely accepted.

Articles are typically more specific. They generally cover newer research or concepts as well.